To make matters even worse? Said "master villain" isn't Moriarty, or anyone we're used to seeing Sherlock face off against — it's Charles Augustus Magnussen, a businessman played by The Killing star Lars Mikkelsen, which... well, have you seen that guy? He pretty much looks like the guy that evil villains in movies are afraid of. Sherlock is pretty much screwed.

"We know from the end of series two he staged his death, he was out of the game but calculating every move and therefore in charge," Cumberbatch explained. "[But] What’s exciting about this series is we see Sherlock in real peril...in the third [episode] they are challenged by a situation and a master villain who brings him to his knees." Poor Sherlock. "He really does lose his authority on the situation and it’s really exciting to see a hero in that much jeopardy."

As for Magnussen — Cumberbatch added that he's a real different sort of villain to Moriarty: "He’s not a mad chaotic villain, not like the award-winning performance Andrew Scott gave as Moriaty...he is so measured and precise – he is like a shark, a terrifyingly perfect predator of our age."

As previously reported, Sherlock will return to BBC One on Jan. 1, 2014 in the UK, and on PBS on Jan. 19 in the US.